


flowerbombs in the moonlight

by Julx3tte



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Teen Titans - All Media Types
Genre: Angst to Fluff, F/F, Fluff, Rarepair, fighting voices in your head, flirting when you're bad with words is hard, jason is the best little bro, they're both dramatic and awkward
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-22 23:51:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15593568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Julx3tte/pseuds/Julx3tte
Summary: Cass is teetering, her usual strategies aren’t working. But up on the rooftops of Gotham, a certain half demon hasn’t quite left the city yet, and, well, Babs would try something new.Jason’s advice? “Just don’t get her father involved.” (Thanks, little bro. “Did I ever tell you about the time Kyle took me off planet for a party?” Was there an angry father? “Look, it wasn’t my fault....”)Or: Cass and Raven go dancing above gotham. Or: how to ask out your brother’s teammate? Ask your other brother for advice.





	flowerbombs in the moonlight

**Author's Note:**

> This has been brewing for weeks! It's not harry potter, I know, but I love Cass and this is the only pairing I'm willing to accept. It's tough to write other characters! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy. There's something, for me, really relatable about Cass' place in her family. 
> 
> Also, fuck canon, I don't know when in the timeline this happened, I know that Titans team was never a thing, but everyone's alive and everyone's fine and fuck anyone that says otherwise.
> 
> If you don't know batfam: Cass is a former child assassin who grew up without speech. She's, canon, the best fighter on the planet. Raven is, well, everyone's watched the Teen Titans show. Jason is the dead robin that came back to life. Tim is the third robin. Damian is the 4th.

####  **I. Seasons.**

Cass heard a familiar whisper from inside of her head, trapped behind a wall and making its way free, and she knew she had to get away, just for a little bit to ride it out.

It was a feeling - an itchy one just behind her neck, where she couldn’t scratch - and it had been building slowly for days. Since she’d gotten back from vacation. She tried her best to ignore it, hoping it would resolve itself, but no such luck.

So here was Cass, in the middle of a meeting, her chest clenching up around her heart.

Cass looked around the table: Tim was outlining what tomorrow night would look like with _three_ teams running around Gotham, _plus_ patrol, while Batman went off world with the Justice League; Steph reclining her chair to the point of falling over to protest her section of patrol ( _That’s the worst section! Those buildings are awful to grapple_!).

Tim’s sort-of-titans were in town, and maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. She considered her options. One, go into hiding, like usual, memorize another play. Or two:  Raven would be around, and last time, they’d had some good conversations. If you could call them that - not many other people talked without words. 

Meanwhile, Damian’s face lit up when Bruce mentions his op with Cass.

The voice broke through her last mental wall. She tried not to listen: _who are you really? Is this really a home? A family?_  

The same questions Cass asked herself the first year she joined the family.

Halfway through Bruce going over a few too many details, her stomach dropped enough that she decided it was time to go.

_Get away._

Cass didn’t bother to change. She excused herself wordlessly with a push of a chair, stopped by the lockers for long enough to pick up her bright pink gym bag, and slipped out of the cave in full _black bat_ gear, using one of the side entrances to the city.

The platform whirring was a surprising comfort. It hummed with familiarity - of patrol, of missions, of escape.

_But what am I escaping from?_

Grappling through the city was automatic. It was like the dance she’d been practicing in ballet. Recital was in a few weeks, but she’d mastered the movements already.

 _But what about the emotion, Cassandra,_ her instructor had always asked.

She twisted her wrists in circles between jumps, testing them. That wasn’t the first time an instructor had asked about her emotions - though maybe the first to mean it so innocently.

Cass was on the way to her sort-of-home, a shared flat with Tim near Gotham U’s campus, enjoying the feeling of her hair in the cool wind.

Tomorrow night’s stakeout with Dami would be slow, and hopefully boring, so tonight, she tried to embrace the feeling of flying through the air, across rooftops and parapets on the old side of Gotham.

_Who am I really?_

What a ridiculous question. Cassandra Cain: _black bat,_ heir to the mantle. Daughter. Sister.

 _But who are you really_?

Only in darkness were these voices so loud - and only ever around family. It was a sort of awful irony - to feel so lonely around people that she knew cared so much about her. 

Sailing through the air, she thought of the first time Bruce had showed her how to grapple through the city. The first time, she hadn’t understood the purpose. Why move across buildings - isn’t the target in just one of them? She was an assassin after all…

Funny enough, tomorrow with Dami, two former, expert child assassins team up to stop... an assassination attempt. She was thinking a little too much like Jason - cynical to the core, and a little too easily amused by fate.

In any case, what she said then, (at least to herself, when she didn’t talk), will forever hold true.

_Cass Cain does not make mistakes._

Take that, shadow voices. 

She was just around the corner now, falling through the hair. It was her favorite part - the slow climb of altitude through midtown, onto the tallest building on campus, and down down down until she was right around the corner from home.

One worry remained. Did she manage to mime the urgency of _Cass on the move_ instead of _Cass on edge_? Did her family even remember that body language, from years ago when she let no one dare approach?

Probably.

As she hit the rooftop across from her flat, a sudden wave of tiredness hit her. Her stomach was fine, now, but her heart needed a break.

She slipped inside of her room through the window, dropped her bag in the corner, stripped out of her costume, and slipped right into bed. She kept her room appropriately cold, and she felt the goosebumps on her skin as her body warmed her sheets.

Cass Cain. Heir to the mantle. Sister. Daughter.

_Assassin. Terror._

Cass felt a shudder, and reached above her sheets to turn off her alarm.

“Silence.”

It was a command to the darkness, staving off the thoughts that would follow: _don’t you owe your family more than to still be thinking like this?_

If Barbara could do it, if Jason could do it, hell if Bruce could, she could too.

Just in case. A quick text to Jay:

 

_Little brother. Spar tomorrow?_

_Will have to be the day after. Bizzaro wants to swim_

_See you ._.

 

And with that, the quiet of sleep.

 

* * *

 

####  **II. Titans.**

Cass’ mornings were for rhythms. They had helped her since she was young, helping make her feel normal. First, some morning stretches - her back, her hips, her feet. Then: wash her face, brush her teeth, and make her bed. (That was a tough lesson with Alfred; she never had full beds to make growing up, and the Manor’s were much too big for her to do alone).

Finally, throwing on a bathrobe, gathering two loads of dirty laundry, and heading to the kitchen for some water and breakfast.

(She had stolen this particular bathrobe from the Manor when she and Tim moved out; she thinks it might have been Bruce’s, once. It’s hilariously big on her, and comfortable.)

It was late. Her room had blackout curtains, but the hallway was filled with warm light. Cass heard voices from the living room. At least five - two women. Tim’s. Garth’s? She couldn’t hear the other two, but one was… Ah.

This was a sort of provisional team up: Tim still ran with his Teen Titan teammates sometimes, even though Damian led the new iteration when he wasn’t with Jon. Dick had the alumni Titans, of course.

She’d meant to take time alone this morning, doing normal things. Emotional preparation before tonight. But perhaps Raven was worth a hello, or at least a wave.

If she’s learned anything from Barbara, it was that hiding was the worst way to handle these kinds of things.

_Hmm. So what would Babs do?_

What she felt like. Whatever she means to do. 

Cass stopped in the hallway and lifted her ankle, making circles in the air - a ballet warm-up she’d learned. It was a way to step into her emotions before dancing. To her surprise, she felt - excitement.

_What if I didn’t have to hide?_

Cass didn’t bother to announce her presence as she entered.

Perfectly composed as always, Cass walked right through the full room, waving quickly on her way to the laundry.

Sneaky as a shadow, four sets of eyes registered her moving through the room, but made no move to engage.

Except Raven.

_Well._

There was something different in the other girl’s posture. The way her eyes moved - _is she checking me out?_

Cass smiled on the way into the kitchen.

She had been wearing civilian clothes - jeans, a black hoodie that was suspiciously close her costume.

 _Well, she is cute_ , she thought as she started the wash.

Crushing on Raven felt… well. Maybe it was Jason’s influence to think to flirt with a half-demon empath-friend-of-her-brothers’. Or a little too much self-destructiveness turned into something sort of productive and uplifting.

But Jason would shy away in this situation. Babs wouldn’t, and Cass was one for bravery.

She grabbed a glass of water, drinking half before filling it up again, and walked back out into the living room.

They were talking about a mission, and she listened in for a moment, leaning against the wall and taking a sip of water. Conner, Aqualad, and Beast Boy were going over details, Starfire and Raven seemed like they were waiting for Tim, who finally broke them into pairs. Each pair had someone that could fly.

It took a few moments for him to notice Cass had paused and not just walked back into her room.

“Hey Cass. We’re on the bay tonight. Where are you and Dami gonna be?”

“Midtown,” she replied. Now the others waved their hellos. Raven was closest to the hallway. Cass gave her a grin.

“We’ll keep out of your way.”

“Flying?” She gestured to the group with her glass.

“Just by the water. We’re hoping to pick them up offshore.”

She waited a moment, taking a lengthy sip of water, eyes finding Raven’s, who raised her eyebrows in response.

“Have fun,” she said nonchalantly, walking straight to her room again.

Back on her bed, Cass replayed the last few minutes, checking her execution. She tried to play it cool. Out of character, maybe, but she’s seen Babs do it just enough times - put away her dorky, quirky self and play herself up a little. Babs does it sometimes with Dick, though Selina is the real expert at it. Step-mom would be proud.

The important question is - did Raven notice?

Cass thought about her own vital signs. Raven would have noticed how she felt more than anything. Her physical vitals were steady: heart slightly elevated, hands not shaking. Stomach just a little bit better than last night.

Oh well.

As she made to lie down, her phone buzzed.

Maybe Jason rescheduling?

 

From Rachel:

_Nice to see you. Safe mission tonight._

 

Hm. Maybe Raven did know. 

Take that, shadows.

 

* * *

####    
**III. Stakeout.**

Cass preferred to let Damian lead when they were on a mission together. He needed the experience more than she did, and besides, wrangling a Robin was something she could wait the decade or so before Bruce retired and she took on the cowl.

All in all, Robin was pretty good at being a team leader - like Dick.

Tonight was supposed to be simple. One of them shadows the VIP, the other takes care of anything at a distance. The window was rather short - a short thirty seconds walk from the building’s elevator, through the lobby, and into the waiting car. Shouldn’t even know the bats were there.

Still, something felt off about it all. Cass thought that Robin felt it too. Sort of an unspoken air between the former assassins.

The easiest shot would be from across the street, right at the door. Too obvious. The second would be to booby trap the elevator or car. The third would be up close, as a pedestrian.

Well, the mechanicals were clear, and they were _on_ the rooftops across. No other people for blocks. So where was this assassin?

Worst case, they would have to follow the car, make sure the VIP got to their final location. But that doesn't quite help them apprehend the assassin.

Damian didn’t take long to notice. 10 minutes before time, and nothing.

“Cain.”

Stuck. Damian was stuck - his fingers twitched a little too on rhythm, and she couldn’t hear his usual _TT_.

“This is wrong. If it were me…”

Cass trailed off. How would she have done it? Knowing something wanted to stop her, knowing she needed not to get caught.

“It’s already happened. Not much time. Through the windows.”

Damian understood. He’d have put it in motion already too, before the VIP even left. Saving him was priority number one - then they could catch the killer.

In tandem, Damian and Cass shot grapple hooks, breaking right through the office window, causing the room of suited men to shout in surprise.

“You’re in danger,” said Robin, as he came out of a careful roll. He already had a medical scanner out.

Meanwhile, Cass scanned the room. The VIP was at center. Half a dozen other businessmen. Who was different?

It took a split second. The assassin was quick, but she was better. One of the businessmen reached for a gun while the rest dove underneath the giant conference table by instinct. Cass threw a batarang, but the assassin dodged.

She had bought a second, at least. 

Damian was focused on the scan, and already radioing for medical, trusting her to apprehend the assassin.

It was… easier said than done. He was good, and played his angles well. She needed to keep his line of sight away from the target - a game of space. Every kick and punch meant to corner and trap.

The assassin knew this, and had a trick up his sleeve. Cass finally had him to a corner, but he dove down and made to take a single shot, trusting in his abilities.

Cass was better. 

As the assassin lept to the floor, hoping to shoot under the table in the middle of the room, her boot came down on his hand, followed quickly by batarangs pinning him by his clothing. A quick forearm to the back of the head dispatched him.

It was a read, as pure and raw as could be made. She saw his legs tense for a split second, noticed his shoulders and elbows drop. His head had peeked just above her shoulder to check his aim. 

Not good enough.

Robin gave the all clear quickly. It was poison, but he was ready to administer the antidote. They called the authorities and caught a grapple out of the building as soon as the sirens came around the block.

“Nice, brother.”

“As always, Cain. I’m off to Jon’s. Don’t tell father?”

“Just… don’t stay out too late.”

 

\--- 

Cass made her way to her favorite perch. It was the tower adjacent to Basil’s, where she often spent sleepless nights reciting Shakespeare and practicing her ballet. Her favorite gargoyle was here, and she sat on it, watching the city. 

Tonight’s voice: _what if you weren’t as good as you were?_

It was meant to shake her confidence, surely. If she didn’t know who she was, didn’t know what she could do, who was she really?

Perched here, following distant headlights speeding across Gotham bridge, and seeing a familiar darkness swallow the city, she Cass let herself wonder.

If she weren’t here, in Gotham, where would she be? With her father, in the business. Maybe she’d be in that assassin’s shoes - and then who would have stopped her?

Damian, maybe. He was good. Trained similarly.

Before she could ponder more, she felt a presence appear behind her. Slow - obvious. As if to let her know they were there.

She turned and scanned the shadows, and saw a pale hand in the moonlight - then a long cape. A moment later, Raven stepped out of the shadows.

Ah. Another point to Cass.

“Mission go okay?” Raven asked with a nod of the head, gesturing to the gargoyle.

Cass nodded, giving her permission to sit.

“Yes. Yours?”

“Got them ten miles off the coast. Cleaning up now.”

“You’re back… before them?”

“They seemed fine without me. Besides. It seemed appropriate to brood over Gotham. When in Rome…”

Cass grinned. “A rare opportunity.”

They shared silence for a time. Raven sat perfectly still, taking up her familiar meditation. Cass saw her muscles relax, her body come to rest. A vulnerable posture. Not great if they were suddenly attacked, but… but perhaps it was a sign of trust.

Cass pondered how to reciprocate. She could read bodies - Raven knew that. But the other girl could read emotions. Cass kept hers close to her chest, but she selected a few to express.

She observed Raven for a while. A long, hooded cape, with raven feathers around the collar. It blew in the wind almost supernaturally. (Maybe fully supernaturally). Dark hair, almost purple in the moonlight, swept just over the side of her face. Pale skin, and a purple jewel at the center of her forehead.

Cheeks slightly flushed - the post-fight adrenaline wearing off. Her lips were whispering something - Cass couldn’t hear, but they were almost automatic for Raven, something she had whispered a thousand times.

 _Attractive_.

What would Jason do, here? He was probably the most emotionally expressive of her family. Maybe Dick, but he was much less guarded than the rest. Hm.

Jason would put his foot in his mouth before he could make anything happen here. Cass made circles with her feet, letting her legs dangle beside the gargoyle.

That thought - of saying something foolish - sent feeling of embarrassment up Cass’ spine. She didn’t want to… well. Raven was here.

_Waste the chance to do what, exactly?_

The battle continues. She felt her stomach lurch a little.

Raven seemed to notice.

“May I?” A word of permission, with a hint of… eagerness. She could see it in the way Raven’s hand reached out shakily, ready to pull back. Cass wasn’t sure what she was asking to do, but it seemed worthwhile.

“Sure.”

Raven’s eyes took in Cass’ seated form before they closed. She whispered something before placing her hands in front of her. Cass felt something like a knock on a door - she opened.

Above Raven’s hands, a dark shadow formed from the air, twisting right into existence. It surrounded the air, and then became a dagger. Raven’s eyes opened slowly, glowing a low orange, and the dagger glowed orange, forming seams where there would have been metal. Then, the dagger broke, crumbling into nothingness again.

Cass watched with wonder. She’d never quite fought with Raven, not in a serious battle anyway. She’d always had lots of questions: what did it mean to be a demon-empath? And how did she overcome _that_ past?

But to her surprise, she saw curiosity in the way Raven leaned forward, watching her response. With a smile on her face. 

Well if she was taking the first step, trusting Cassandra to keep them safe, leaving her team for this moment….

“Beautiful,” she whispered. Cass wasn’t sure if she meant Raven, or the image, but both were true. She opened the door a bit wider, eying Raven’s hands, imagining her own in them.

“I can show you again. Tomorrow night. Here.” Raven asked carefully. Taking care not to overstep any boundaries. Not uncommon for people like… well, them.

“What… was it?” Cass asked. It would be a happy surprise to meet Raven again. Asking was reassuring, she reasoned. 

“You. How you see yourself.”

“Breaking?” Cass certainly felt it; now she let those emotions out too, trusting that Raven would see.

“Perhaps… re-forging.”

“Dagger. For killing.” Her original purpose. The voices.

“Broken dagger,” Raven corrected. “Like overcoming.” These words sent a shiver of hope down Cass’ spine.

In this moment - exchanging few words loaded with meaning, Cass felt the door in her heart as wide open. Raven wouldn’t let her lose hope. Did she know about the voices? Hear them too?

“And you?” _How do you see me_ , Cass wanted to know. _Do you feel the same way?_

“What did you see?” Raven was asking her to trust herself.

“Lovely. Perfume.”

“You are. Lovely.”

The words ceased there.

Cass could see behind Raven’s smile: as if Raven was staring at a beautiful painting, deserving adoration, embarrassed to stand before it.

At the same time, Raven could hear Cass’ heart: the way it beat faster when their eyes met, the way it fluttered at Raven’s smiles.

A gift it was - to speak beyond words.

Cass moved to sit halfway between their gargoyles, atop the parapet, her hand carefully outstretched away from her. Raven joined her, and a few moments later, she felt a cool touch on her hands.

They stayed there a while, watching the city, brooding, speaking with twitches of fingers and pointed looks. 

Eventually, a communicator beeped.

“Debrief,” she explained, untangling their finger slowly.

“Tomorrow,” Cass said with a smile. A promise.

 

* * *

####    
**IV. Influence.**

The next morning, Cass met Jason at their usual gym. It was underneath one of Jason’s safehouses, in an abandoned part of the industrial district. Perfect for loud noises.

“What’s up, sis?” Jason was warming up, kicking the air and rolling out his arms.

Cass stayed silent. She knew Jason could tell something was… different.

“Okay fine. I’ll guess. Hmm....”

Jason made a show of thinking - rubbing his chin, peeking left and right as if looking for evidence.

“You met someone.”

Cass probably shouldn’t have been surprised.

“How did you know?”

“Everyone in this family has the same damn look when they’re smitten. It’s bad enough I have to see Dick wear it on his face every week.”

“Oh.”

Maybe it was okay to be surprised - at herself for hearing so many Wayne traits. Not only the bat paraphernalia, but the way they... handled their emotions. For better or worse.

“I won’t ask, don’t worry.” Unsaid: but if you want to share, I’m here for you.

“Raven. Rachel,” she said as she jumped up to a pull-up bar, testing her grip.

“The Titan?”

“She is nice.”

Jason knew what nice meant in this family. Babs was nice. Selina was nice. Hell, Wonder Woman was nice.

He hummed for a moment. “Just don’t get her father involved.”

This earned a laugh from Cass as she began a set. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Did I ever tell you about the time Kyle took me off world for a party?”

“The Lantern?”

“Yeah.”

“Was there an angry father involved?”

“Look, it wasn’t my fault but....”

Jason waited for Cass’ interjection to continue, starting a set of his own.

“Is the lesson… don’t be like Jason?”

“All I’ll say is, that planet had some great dancers.”

Cass waited. Jason sighed and dropped down.

“I’m an awful dancer. Apparently dancing poorly is a horribly offensive thing there. We, uh, had to leave pretty quickly. I think Kyle even got in some trouble....”

Cass grinned. “So I need to dance with her.”

“Don’t make it weird. Look, I’m just saying it’s important for you to have a rhythm for others. You and me, we spar. Dick takes you to Ballet. Tim treats you to too much ice cream.”

“Not too much.”

“Steph… I don’t even want to know what you two get up to anymore. 

“Heh.”

Cass considered the wisdom. Jason always gave good advice, but she suspected she received it the most of the siblings. Maybe because they had come to Gotham at the same time. Or, back to Gotham. Shared the same teachers too, before that.

It was sort of his way of being protective. _She’s no good if she doesn’t speak your language._

“Thanks little brother.”

“No problem. Hey, don’t let the other Robins know either.”

Cass narrowed her eyes. 

“Fine little brother. You are special,” she conceded, making to pat his head.

“Thanks big sis,” he said with praise.

* * *

 

####  **V. Manifest.**

That night, Raven was waiting for Cassandra on her favorite rooftop, wearing civilian clothes instead of her costume 

“Good day?” she asked, making to sit on a gargoyle.

Cass nodded, thinking about Jason’s advice. It went both ways, she deduced. Speaking her language, and Raven’s.

Tonight, the voices asked: _who are you to be seen?_

Cass took a breath, setting down on her gargoyle in a straddle, propping her arms up behind her. “Do you… ever. Um. Lose hope?”

Raven took the words in for a few moments. That wasn’t the question she was expecting, though she knew they wouldn’t have been far behind.

“Usually, I find a tall rooftop and watch. Titans Tower was nice for that.”

Cass laughed, gesturing behind her with a tilt of her head. “Like this one?

“Perfect for brooding,” Raven agreed.

A pause. Then: “what happens when it’s not. Usual.”

“Sometimes I ask for help. But sometimes I try something new. I heard you dance?”

“Ballet,” Cass replied, lifting up a leg.

“Sometimes I get pizza,” Raven confessed, laughing. “I blame Dick.”

Cass considered that answer. Before, she had let Barbara care for her, sparring with sticks and watching movies with Steph. They hadn’t done that in a while.

There was more behind that, she was sure - the sense of family, of opening up, of trusting.

But instead of asking, Cass decided she was out of words and made to sit in between the gargoyles again.

“Would you like to dance?” Cass asked, after a few moments of silence. Raven had been watching her; Cass felt Raven’s gaze moving, and from the corner of her eye, saw how the other girl’s hands were clasped.

“I can’t quite do ballet,” Raven answered.

“My brother’s advice. ‘Ask her to dance’ he said.” She was grinning, sure that Jason didn’t mean for her to take it so literally.

Raven stood and flew through the air, floating in front of Cass. She reached out her hand. “Which brother?”

Cass took it. A voice in her head again: _what makes_ you _worthy?_

Raven floated them up into the sky, until they landed on a conjured platform. Cass did a pirouette.

Worthy of what, she thought. The cowl? Her family?

There was no music. Only the quiet sounds of the wind in the sky, but Cass offered a hand to Raven, who accepted the invitation. It was a slow dance, and Cass felt the knots in her stomach dissipate. The door inside her heart was open again, and she felt the cool breeze of Gotham’s air on her neck.

“Must be the second brother,” Raven said, after a few lazy circles around the platform. “He’s the most romantic.”

“Not Dick,” Cass asked?

“Too suave. Besides, he’s too playful.”

Dance, Cass decided, was a gift. To speak without words.

\---

The next morning, Tim woke to the sound of… a suspiciously happy Cassandra, cooking eggs.

He entered the kitchen, looking for coffee, taking in evidence. Cassandra was not a morning person. And yet….

“Are you...okay,” he accused, waving an empty coffee mug.

Cass blinked at him, and continued to hum.

“Hm.” Tim filled the pourover with grinds, and set the water to boil.

“You sound like Damian,” Cass teased.

“Hmmm….” Tim grumbled.

“Tell me next time you’re with the Titans,” Cass asked. She was teasing him, holding what he didn’t know above her head. Unfair, but equally fun.

Tim didn’t respond; he only waited for his coffee to finish before walking back into his bedroom.

Cass took out her phone to text Raven.

_Poor Tim._

The reply came almost immediately: _You’re worse than your brothers are, teasing him._

Cass sent back an emoji: the purple demon, smiling.

_That's my emoji >_>_

**Author's Note:**

> if raven feels off, it's bc I'm not as familiar with her character - I want to keep writing this, so feedback or ideas would be wonderful!


End file.
